
On April 19th at FITC: Toronto, I’ll be teaching a workshop on developing swf palettes/panels and AIR apps that drive Adobe CS3 applications, while using workflows that should transition smoothly into developing for CS4 apps.
The workshop will include an overview of the framework, methods and different tools of driving Adobe CS3 apps via code including: differences between palettes & panels and what types there are; what applications support which palettes/panels and what types are supported; intro to scripting via ExtendScript Toolkit; intro to creating swf palettes/panels; intro to creating AIR apps to drive Adobe apps; Purchasing/Distribution; Installation & Streamlined future dev process.
We will explore thoroughly ExtendScript Toolkit, including: which languages it supports; the DOMs of multiple Adobe apps; OMV & Documentation; the JavaScript Console, Scripts – Favorites, Breakpoints, Call Stack, Data Browser and Find Results Panels.
We will write scripts – courtesy of Adobe’s Tom Ruark, Jeff Tranberry and myself – that can: rename files; perform conditional actions; process multiple images; get/set layer/channel/frame properties; create a variety of text file flavors (.xml, .js, .as); create new folders; and save, copy & move files. For the more advanced scripts, we will focus on manipulating active items (activeDocument, activeLayers) and collections (documents, layers, channels, frames).
Before moving on to driving the Adobe apps via swfs, we will review good coding practices and discovering and includingunsupported objects/features/functions in PS.
For the SWFs portion of the workshop, we will explore the following: Flash palettes & panels; ScriptUI; the different Window Types including the pros and cons of each; which apps, OSs and AS versions are supported by each; and pitfalls to avoid.
We will work through several examples of developing SWFs that drive Adobe apps, including: a simple Hello World example of a swfPalette driving PS; a swfPalette that draws selected symbols in AI; and a swfPanel that drives Flash. We will also work through a simple example that demonstrates inter-application communication – where we can have two Adobe CS3 apps communicate to each other through the swfPalette. We will wrap up this secton with a discussion about what to expect in regards to Adobe CS4 apps support of SWFs and some new tools from Adobe that will streamline the dev process.
For the AIR section of the workshop, we will review the existing process of establishing two-way communication between the AIR and Adobe CS3 apps. We will create an example that allows us to communicate and drive Illustrator from an AIR app. To wrap up this section, I will present a new Adobe tool that will dramatically improve how AIR apps can drive Adobe apps as well as explore a wish list of new functionality I hope we will be able to play with in the distant future.
To wrap up the workshop, we will focus on the process of Purchasing, Distribution and Installation procedures – associated with the new tools we develop – that are in place today. Discussions and working through the process of installing our swfs and scripts via the Extension Manager will also be explored.
I hope to see you there.
Woohoo!
Drew